Combination brassiere and girdle



April 9, 1957 L. KAHN COMBINATION BRASSIERE AND GIRDLE Filed Oct. 14, 1955 FIG-.3.

Ago/v my ATT-O RN LYS UnitedStates Patent COMBINATION BRASSIERE AND GIRDLE Leon Kahn, Neponsit, N. Y.

Application October 14, 1955, Serial No. 540,386

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-42) This invention relates generally to womens garments, and is particularly directed to an improved construction for under garments of the type combining a brassiere and'girdle.

As employed herein, the combined brassiere and girdle may be considered as defining a brassiere type garment including a body covering portion extending appreciably below the wearers breast. The particular embodiment of the present invention, which is illustrated in the drawings, and which will be described hereinafter in greater detail, comprises generally a sheet adapted to gird the chest of the wearer and having cups for receiving the wearers breast, and a novel construction and arrangement of stays, bones or relatively stiff members to cornfortably and attractively maintain the garment and person of the wearer in the desired shape.

As is well known to those versed in the art, prior constructions of the type described usually included an areaate stiffener or stay secured along the lower bounding region of each cup, and an independent, generally vertically disposed stitfener or stay secured to the garment below each cup with its upper end adjacent to the arcuate stay. While numerous constructions, such as the formation of pockets, tunnels and the like, have been provided to hold the vertical stays and prevent their upward movement toward the wearers breasts, such constructions have not been satisfactory, usually becoming defective in a short time and permitting upward projection of the vertical stays into the wearer's breasts, or :coacting with the arcuate stays to pinch the wearers breasts therebetween.

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved garment construction of the type described which overcomes the above mentioned difiiculties, and wherein each arcuate stiffener or stay is hingedly connected to its adjacent generally vertically disposed stiffener or stay, to aiiord full freedom of movement of the wearer, eliminate or reduce wear of the stay holding pockets or tunnels, and provide the utmost comfort when in use.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a garment construction having the advantageous characteristics mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, which is extremely simple in structure and durable in use, and which can be manufactured and sold at a reasonable cost.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope will be indicated by the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevational view showing stilfeners .or stays constructed according to the present invention,

removed from the garment, and illustrating various relative positions of the stifieners in dot-and-dash outline;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View taken substantially along the line 22 of Fig. l, and showing additional relative positions of the stays in dot-and-dash outline;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view showing a garment constructed in accordance with the present invention, with parts being removed for clarity of understanding; and

Fig. 4 is a partial, vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 44 of Fig. 3.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and specifically to Fig. 3 thereof, there is illustrated therein a combination brassiere and girdle, generally designated 11), including a flexible body girding band or sheet 11 provided with a pair of breast holding cups 12, 12.

In particular, the sheet or band 11 may be fabricated of suitable textile material and is formed with a pair of openings or cutouts 14, 14 spaced from each other, each defined by an arcuate, generally U-shaped bounding edge opening upwards through the upper band edge 15 and having a lower bight portion 17 substantially spaced above the lower edge 16 of the band. The openings 14 are shaped and arranged to receive the breasts of a wearer when the band 11 is in position about the wearers chest; and, the cups 12 are arranged in the respective openings 1.4 and secured along their lower edge portions to the adjacent sheet portions bounding the sheet openings, by any suitable means such as stitching or the like.

A lower binding or edging strip 18 is secured, as by stitching, along the lower bounding edge 16 of the sheet 11, while an upper binding or edging strip 19 is stitched or otherwise secured along the upper sheet edge 15, and along the upper edges of the cups 12. An additional strip 24 may be stitched to the sheet 11 in generally vertical disposition extending between the cups 12. An additional strip 25 may be stitched to the sheet 11 in generally vertical disposition extending between the cups 12 and terminating at the upper and lower edge bindings 19 and 18.

Extending exteriorly along the arcuate edge bounding each opening 14, each of which edges defines the juncture or seam securing a respective cup 12 to the sheet 11, is an arcuate strip 20. That is, the arcuate strips 2%} each extend along the lower boundary of a respective cup 12 and are secured, as by a pair of parallel spaced lines of stitching 21 and 22, respectively, to the exterior surfaces of the associated cup 12 and sheet 11. The arcuate strips 29 are preferably fabricated of flexible textile material; and, as the lines of stitching 21 and 22 extend along opposite longitudinal edges of the respective strip, the strips combine with the sheet to define a tunnel or pocket, as at 23 in Fig. 4, extending along the lower boundary of each cup.

Secured on the exterior surface of the sheet 11, below each of the cups 12 is a generally vertically disposed flexible strip 25. More specifically, the strips 25 are each secured to the sheet 11 by a pair of parallel spaced lines of stitching 26 and 27 extending along opposite side edges of the respective strip, so that the strips combine with the sheet 11 to define vertically extending tunnels, or pockets, as at 28 in Fig. 4. Also in Fig. 4 it will be observed that the strips 25 each has its upper end disposed adjacent to a lower portion of the associated arcuate strip 2a and extending beneath the latter strip, while the lower end of each strip 25 extends beneath the adjacent portion of the lower edge binding 18 and is secured thereto by a relatively short line of stitching 29 which also passes through the sheet 11. In Fig. 3 it is seen that the lower line of stitching 22 securing the arcuate strip 21 to the sheet 11 is interrupted or discontinuous in the region 30 adjacent to and overlying the upper end portion of the strip 25. By this construction, the tunnel or pocket 28 defined by the strip 25 and sheet 11 opens upwards into the tunnel or pocket 23 defined by the strip 20 and sheet 11, while the pocket 28 has its lower end closed by the stitching 29.

Extending along the lower bounding portion of each cup 12, and received within the respective arcuate tunnel 23 is an arcuate, relatively stiff, resilient member, stiifener or stay 32. In particular, each of the areuate stays 32 is of generally U'shaped configuration, preferably fabricated of resilient wire having a circular cross section, and is held in position or secured to the sheet 11 by the strip 20. The upwardly extending free ends of the wire stay 32 may beblunted if desired, as by the provision of spherical heads 33. It will be understood that the areuate wire stays 32 are laterally held in position within limits defined by the lines of stitching 21 and 22, while their longitudinal movement is limited by the stitching securing the upper edge binding 19 to the sheet 11 and closing opposite ends of the pockets 23.

Received within each of the pockets 28 defined by the strips 25 is a generally vertically disposed stay, bone or stiiiencr 35, which is preferably fabricated of somewhat resilient, strip material. Thus, the stays 35 are each secured to the sheet 11 by its respective flexible strip 25 and laterally restrained by the stitching lines 26 and 27 securing the strips 25 to the sheet. As best seen in Fig. 4, the lower end of each stay 35 is prevented from moving downwards by the stitching 29 which closes the lower end of the pocket 28. However, the upper end portion of each stay 35 extends from its respective pocket 28 into the adjacent portion of the associated pocket 23, and is there bent or curled, as at 36, about the proximate lower portion of the adjacent stiffener 32.

By this construction, upward movement of the stays 35 toward the breast of the wearer is effectively prevented, while ample freedom of movement is afforded to the wearer by the flexibility of the stays and the relative movement permitted between the stays. That is, the loop or bent portion 36 of each stay 35 serves to hingedly connect the latter to its respective stiffener 32 and permit relative swinging movement of the hingedly connected stays or stiffeners, as shown in Fig. 2. Also, the hinged connection between the stays 32 and 35 allows sliding movement of the former through the loop 36 of the latter, or conversely, sliding movement of the stay 35 along the stay 32, as illustrated in dot-and-dash outline in Fig. 1. Hence, the stay construction described hereinabove is extremely safe and flexible in operation, so as to afford the wearer maximum comfort and prolong the life of the garment.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides a garment construction which fully accomplishes its intended objects, and is well adapted to meet practical conditions of manufacture and use.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claim. For example, it is fully appreciated more than one stay 35 may be hingedly connected to each of the stitfeners 32, and that such stays need not be arranged vertically, but may depend at an inclined angle from the respective stiffener, and it is intended that the appended claim be interpreted to include such constructions.

What is claimed is:

In a garment construction, a flexible sheet adapted to gird the chest of a wearer, said sheet having a pair of openings formed therein and spaced above the lower edge thereof for receiving the wearers breasts, cups secured in said sheet openings to support the breasts of the wearer, a first pair of tunnels extending respectively along the lower boundaries of said cups, an elongate arcuate resilient member extending interiorly of each of said first pair of tunnels and retained in fixed position thereby relative to said sheet to yieldably maintain the tunnels in an arcuate configuration, the free ends of said arcuate members being blunted, stitching on said sheet and cups above said blunted free ends limiting movement of the same, a second pair of tunnels on said sheet each extending downwardly from a lower region of .a respective tunnel of said first pair of tunnels and com municating with the interior of the latter, a stay extending interiorly of each tunnel of said second pair, each of said stays in said second pair of tunnels having their upper ends bent about a respective resilient arcuate memher in said first pair of tunnels to define a hinged con nection therebetween, said hinged connection permitting sliding and hinging movement of said stay relative to said arcuate member, and a short line stitching beneath the ends of said stays at the lower ends of said second pair of tunnels to close the same and secure the stays therein.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,020,213 Martell et a]. Mar. 12, 1912 l,762,676 Woltstem June 10, 1930 2,248,204 Snider July 8, 1941 2,636,174 Williams Apr. 28, 1953 2,721,324 Graf Oct. 25, 1955 

